Mirai e
by ThePerpetual
Summary: When everyone lets their guards down, something happens that changes their lives forever. Or is it that they have simply returned to how life should be in this cruel world? There is absolutely no intended romance (although I do ship Riren), but you could probably pick up hints here and there if you really want to. My very first fanfiction of life - please don't be too harsh.


Eren sighed, looking into the blood-red sky from the top of the rubble of broken Wall Sina. The war against the Titans was over. Humanity had survived, although with countless casualties. The victory did not seem like one to Eren. Both species, human and Titan, had suffered, and humans had nearly been annihilated in the process of attempting to achieve their safety. The total number of humans left alive only totaled to a couple hundred. He knew that he had been desensitized towards death - he had seen too many friends die right in front of his eyes, too many people screaming for the help that never came, but knowing that so few humans were left still sent a chill down his spine. While pondering the changes that had been made in him by the brutal fight, he carefully sat down on a particularly flat piece of stone. A fluttering sound made him turn to his right, where he found that Rivaille had used his maneuver gear to land right next to him, his green uniform cloak billowing in the wind. The Wings of Freedom were still neatly stitched onto it undamaged, stained with the dried blood of countless Titans. "Corporal." Eren said respectfully with a salute over his heart. This was the man that had led many of their successful expeditions and had ultimately led them to victory. He deserved every ounce of respect of all the Legions and their members. Rivaille glanced down at Eren, gray eyes briefly acknowledging the green. "It's been a while, Eren."

"Yes, sir." Rivaille gave him an unfathomable look.

"So?"

"... Sir?"

"So how do you feel, now that those revolting Titans have been decimated by humanity's hands?"

Eren paused to think and decided to proceed honestly. "I feel lost, sir." Rivaille did not speak, but sat down a few feet away from him. The man rumoured to be worth a brigade by himself sighed a sigh that represented the fatigue of a hundred years. "I feel as if I've lost my purpose," Eren continued. "And there's no way of getting it back." The last sentence was barely a whisper.

"Do you want it back?"

"N-no sir, not at all. Because that would imply Titans coming back, more pain..." Eren trailed off. Rivaille simply nodded.

"I see." The corporal crossed his legs and leant forward, his elbows on his knees. "Look around you." Eren was confused but observed his surroundings. "Do you see anything unusual?"

"... No, sir. I don't."

"Mm. That's right. There's nothing unusual. That's what feels so wrong for us. We've been stuck in this goddamn war for way too long - and now that it's over, we crave it. It really says a lot about what humanity has come to be." Rivaille smiled bitterly. "Just like we had to adapt to the Titans and their repulsive existence, we have to adapt to this kind of peace." Eren listened quietly. There was an unnerving kind of passion with which the Corporal spoke. He watched as the shorter soldier stood up again and dusted off his somehow immaculate clothes. "Well, Eren. I suppose I'll be seeing you around."

"Y-yes, sir."

"That's Rivaille to you now, kid. The ranking system is done for."

Eren tossed a grin over his shoulder as Rivaille shot the ropes from his maneuver gear and gracefully took off from the broken wall. "Mhmm. See you, Rivaille."

When the whistling sounds of Rivaille's gear had faded away, Eren sighed. Fulfilling his dream would take a long time. Although he had always wanted to see the outside world, he knew just how large it was. He wished to see those plains of sand, those huge, glittering pools of water that were said to be naturally formed. How could the world hold such wonders?

Well, that was no matter. The titans were gone. It was time for Eren to go and explore the world for himself, and he had his entire life to do it. He grinned and stepped off the rubble to search for Armin and Mikasa.

"Yo, Armin." Eren waved to the small blonde. "Where's Mikasa?"

"Eren!" Armin waved back happily. "Oh, Mikasa's just trying to calm Sasha down over there." He pointed to the two girls a couple metres away, Sasha sobbing with Mikasa's arms around her. Mikasa turned to give Eren a small smile.

"What happened to Sasha?" Eren asked, worried for the usually bubbly brunette. "Don't tell me someone she knew..."

"Oh no, not at all. Don't worry. Her friends are all alive and well - she's just crying of happiness that it's finally over." Armin reassured Eren with a huge grin. "It's... It's really over, isn't it?" His eyes teared up.

"Hey, Eren. Let's go. Let's go outside. Right now." Armin tugged at Eren's sleeve. Eren smiled.

"Let's go when Mikasa is done calming Sasha down. I can't wait either, Armin. I can't wait to see everything in that book... In person." Eren's green eyes were brimming with happiness and hope as he whispered the last two words.

Mikasa finally stood up and gave Sasha one last hug. "Feeling better?" She gently asked Sasha.

"I-I-I've n-never b-b-been b-better..." Sasha blubbered as she messily wiped the snot off of her nose. "Th-thanks, Mikasa. You're the best." Mikasa smiled, and turning towards Eren and Armin, jogged over to them.

"Let's go, Eren, Armin." She was somehow still as calm as ever on the outside, but her two closest friends could tell - they could tell that she was less tense, her steps were lighter, her face glowed. She grabbed both of them by the hand and headed towards the dilapidated wall with a beaming smile plastered on her face. Eren and Armin couldn't hold it in any longer. They started to chuckle, slowly turning into a full laugh. Mikasa soon joined them, and the three of them fell onto the floor and laughed until tears formed in their eyes and their stomachs were pained.

"Oh my god, it's over!" Eren cried. "It's over, and all three of us are here to enjoy the end of the war. Ah, today is the day." Getting up again, he helped Mikasa and Armin to their feet. "Well then, we've got all our lives, might as well start exploring today." He grinned and, using the 3D maneuver gear still strapped onto his legs, flew past the rubble of Wall Sina and into Wall Rose's territory. Armin and Mikasa soon joined him on either side. They continued to fly with the wind whipping through their hair, passing the boring red-roofed houses, passing burnt stumps of trees, and finally passing the boundaries of Wall Maria. The outside world. They had been outside on patrols for the Scouting Legion, but today it felt different. It felt free. Breathing in the clear air, they set out in a random direction. They knew this territory quite well, anyways.

"Hey, brats. What are you doing out here?" Rivaille's distinctive voice floated from a few feet behind them. The two boys jumped slightly, but Mikasa stayed calm as they turned around to meet the rather intimidating gray eyes.

"H-hello, Rivaille." Eren said tentatively. Armin gave him a look of pure shock and Rivaille gave a short laugh, smacking Armin on the back of the head.

"Don't be so surprised. Isn't the war over, Arlert? There's no need for titles outside of war." Rivaille paused. "You three... You're going somewhere?"

"Yes." Mikasa responded curtly. _Would she ever get over that beating he had received from Rivaille once a long time ago?_ Eren wondered.

Turning towards her with an exasperated look, Rivaille sighed. "I'm never going to beat your brother up again, you obstinate brat. I have better uses for my time." He turned towards Armin and Eren once again, and demanded the least likely thing to ever come out of his mouth. "Let me come with you, wherever you're going."

To say that the trio's mouths were simply hanging open would have been an understatement.

"Come? With us?" Eren was astonished.

Armin coughed and quickly regained his composure. "Well, why not?" He nudged Mikasa to prevent her openly murderous look from getting any more obvious. "L-let's go, altogether. Right, Eren?"

"R-right!" Eren laughed a rather high-pitched laugh and turned on his heel. "Well, let's get going."

"Do you have a place in mind?" Rivaille questioned.

"A-actually, we were just... Planning to go and, umm, explore... Or something..." Armin bravely tried to explain while Eren turned his head away to cough and Mikasa remained stony. Rivaille, however, did not mock them and simply nodded.

"I see."

The next half hour was mostly silence. Eren's mind cried out desperately for anything to break the tension until they began to see something blue on the horizon. There seemed to be no end to it; the beautiful spectacle was almost too much for them to behold. So this was the sea. The sheer power that seemed to be emanating from the magnificent body of water pierced through Eren's thoughts and caused him to gasp. When they reached the edge of the ocean, he took off his boots and felt the sand move slightly beneath him, his toes sinking into its soft grains. He undid his 3D maneuver gear and slowly walked into the water, gaining a little worried sound from Mikasa. Smiling, he looked around at Rivaille and Armin, the older soldier having sat down on his jacket that had been spread over the sand to prevent sand from making direct contact with him, and his childhood friend that was crouched near the wet sand and making small sand sculptures. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turning around, found Mikasa standing next to him, staring out into sea. "Mikasa..." He put a hand over hers and let a tear roll down his cheek. "Thanks, Mikasa. For looking after me. Thank you." Mikasa tossed him a look of disbelief before raising her arms again to wrap them around her brother's neck and giving him a warm hug.

"My pleasure, Eren." She responded with a small choking sound.

"Hey, you two lovebirds better quit it before -" Rivaille was cut short by a booming sound.

_Boom._

_Boom._

"What's that?" Armin asked nervously. "Guys?"

"Oi, Jaeger. Get your gear on." Rivaille warned.

_Boom._

Mikasa tensed and Eren struggled to put his gear back on.

_Boom._

"Impossible," Armin breathed. "Impossible." He counted thirteen titans on the advance, five seven-metre class and the rest being fifteen-metre classes. "I THOUGHT WE WERE DONE!" He screeched. "I THOUGHT WE DIDN'T HAVE TO SEE YOUR UGLY FACES AGAIN!"

Mikasa regained her composure and faced the titans, the fierce look back in her eyes, ready to put everything on the line for her friends' lives. Rivaille, though shaken by the reappearance of his mortal enemies, also faced the truth. War would never leave. It would always be there. Humanity would never be free. Tossing his hair out of his eyes, he gave a bitter laugh and said, "Oi, you three. I'll be taking care of the three fifteen metre classes grouped over there on the right. Take care of the seven-metres and we'll do something together about the remaining ones afterwards. I'm leaving you in Mikasa's care. Don't. Get. Yourselves. Killed." He then shot off towards the titans on the right, who had their teeth bared in loathsome smiles. The trio nodded at each other, then quickly ran closer towards the oncoming threat. The three took off in separate directions, but towards the same group of titans. They each managed to kill a seven metre, leaving two left. Eren realized a strange noise coming from his maneuver gear, but paid no attention. It was either pay attention to the enemy in front of him or get eaten.

Eren decided to land in a tall tree right next to a seven metre, and prepared to launch himself at its exposed neck. The 3d maneuver gear clicked. And clicked. And clicked some more.

But did not release the ropes.

Eren frantically tried again and again, but to no avail. He couldn't believe it. A gear malfunction _now_, of all times?! But then he remembered - the gear had no protection against saltwater because they hadn't known about any ocean within the walls. It must have gotten caught in a small tide when he undid it and left it on the wet sand. The seven metre class loomed over him, its stinking breath being shoved in his face. With a swishing sound and a smooth slice, Mikasa swiftly cut it down and landed gracefully on the branch above him. "Eren? What's wrong?"  
Mikasa asked urgently. "Your gear?!" She looked at him worriedly. "Just get onto a high bran -" Eren felt the air knocked out of him as a huge hand grasped him around the torso and brought him up into the air. "EREN!" Mikasa screamed. He felt ribs crack as the fifteen metre class titan glared at him with a certain kind of fury. He cried out in pain, unable to do anything in its abnormally strong grip pinning his arms to his body.

"M-Mikasa... Armin... Rivaille..." Eren gasped for air. "S-someone. Someone help. I don't want to die yet. Not yet." His pleas were seemingly answered as humanity's strongest soldier came hurtling towards the titan, and attempted to cut it down. What they did not realize was that the titan, though looking the exact same as the others, was a deviant.

It carried a higher level of intelligence. Covering the back of its neck with its other hand, Rivaille's usually impeccable slice was kept from becoming a mortal wound. Eren got much too close to the titan's mouth. Rivaille swore as he realized the titan was a deviant, and prepared to launch himself off the tree again to cut off the titan's wrist. Mikasa prepared herself to slice off the back of the neck as soon as Rivaille succeeded in his plan. The hand of the deviant fell off with the revolting sound of splitting flesh.

Eren was losing consciousness from the blood loss. He coughed even more blood, his head becoming lighter by the second. He heard a roar from the titan as he faintly saw a green blur cut down its left hand, and felt the tremors as it hit the ground. _Rivaille..._

_Mikasa..._

_Armin..._

He suddenly felt an excruciating pain from his abdomen down as the titan clamped his jaws down after his blood curdling roar. He screeched and tears rolled down his blood stained face as he felt the pain rapidly course through his entire body, and looked down to see that the lower half of his body...

_The lower half?_

_What?_

Where was it? His eyes could no longer... They could not be fooling him, right? He refused to... He refused to believe...

Mikasa had cut down the titan. She watched as Rivaille flew quickly towards Eren, still clasped in the disgusting grip of the titan whose body was now hissing and producing smoke. She simply watched as Rivaille eased Eren's body out and supported his head on his arm. She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. This could not be happening. _Eren... Eren, Eren, Eren. My friend. My little brother._ This was impossible.

Armin landed beside her, having dealt with several titans on his own, and witnessed the sight on the ground below him. "What... Eren? Rivaille?" He landed beside Eren's body next to Rivaille. "N-no, Eren. Stop it. Come on. Eren? You're okay, right? You'll regenerate, right? You promised. You promised you would kill all the titans, right? Look, there are fifteen metre classes just walking towards us. Eren? Doesn't that infuriate you? Eren." Armin leant his head forward over Eren's torso, his blonde hair covering his eyes as his body shook with silent sobs.

"Armin..." Eren whispered as blood trickled down his chin. "You know I lost my titan ability as soon we started to believe the titans were gone. I'm just human. Please... Please acknowledge me as one." Armin could not speak. Eren glanced up at Mikasa, still unable to move from the tree. "Mikasa." She watched his lips move slowly but surely.

"You're a great sister."

Those words brought out all the anguish concealed in Mikasa, her tears starting to pool and drip from her beautiful black eyes as she sobbed an answer back to Eren. "I love you, Eren. Please don't die." She wept uncontrollably. "Please don't die."

Eren smiled weakly but failed to gather the strength to cry or apologize. He slowly turned towards Rivaille. "Rivaille... Was I useful? Was I a good soldier?"

Rivaille could barely make out what Eren was asking, but he replied firmly, "You were the pride of the Scouting Legion, Eren Jaeger. You will always be."

Eren nodded. "Thank you, Rivaille... Take care of Mikasa and Armin for me."

Eren Jaeger then breathed his last.

Rivaille looked down at his fallen soldier and friend, and let a single tear run down his face.

Another one. Another one had left him. "You idiot," he said quietly as the three left behind stood up to face the titans that were almost upon them.

"It's 'corporal' to you, Jaeger."


End file.
